Telecommuting Makes Snow Days Fun Again

January 22, 2016 at 3:33 AM

Winter weather frequently causes employees to miss work, whether because of impassable roads, school closures, or illness. These absences increase stress for workers and cost businesses revenue. Offering a telecommuting option to your employees can be beneficial to workers and your company’s bottom line.

“…Federal employees in Washington who worked from home during four official snow days saved the government an estimated $32 million, according to Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, and its research arm Telework Research Network.” – New York Times

Telecommuting Promotes Employee Engagement

Employees are happiest when they are invested in and fulfilled by the work they’re doing – that’s why “employee engagement” is one of the hottest HR topics of 2016. But in addition to providing fulfilling work and working to improve company culture, having a workplace that meets workers’ needs for work-life balance can be the difference between having happy, loyal employees and fighting constant turnover.

Not having to spend a harrowing three hours on ice-slicked roadways means your workers can stay not only safer but also more focused on productive work through their workday. Being able to stay away from the office while fighting off illness can allow an employee to still work while not spreading her germs around the whole department. Plus, being able to spend lunchtime building a snowman in the yard is a stress-busting perk only work-from-home employees can enjoy!

Telecommuting Boosts Productivity

Many companies worry that workers who telecommute won’t be as productive or work as hard. Studies have not only disproved this fear of allowing workers to telecommute, they’ve shown that workers are in fact more productive when they can work remotely.[1] Workers tend to work longer hours (since no time is lost commuting), take less time off for personal time, and log fewer sick days. Telecommuting also allows employees to work in the workplace of their choosing: noisy or silent, outside or indoors, or with others in a coworking space. Employees can work remotely from anywhere in the world, allowing them to travel without taking vacation.

Research shows that happy employees are more productive employees – up to 12% more productive, according to one recent study. “The driving force seems to be that happier workers use the time they have more effectively, increasing the pace at which they can work without sacrificing quality,” noted the economists from the University of Warwick.[2]

Cloud-Based Systems Allow Convenient, Secure Data Access

Using cloud-based networks and HCM systems ensures that everything your workers need to do their jobs is at their fingertips, anywhere they have a network connection. Software as a service (SaaS) allows you to make the latest versions and upgrades of the software your company uses available to your entire network, wherever they are. Cloud-based networking can incorporate security measures to ensure that every connection into your company’s data is secure, even if you’re accessing sensitive data through a public WiFi network.

StarGarden HCM 5.0 is an integrated HCM solution that incorporates HR shared services and intelligent business process automation tools into one software solution available as SaaS. Its federation technology facilitates connecting with outside servers to collaborate on projects like outsourcing, travel planning, benefit management, procurement management and managing contract workers using just one interface.